Childhood in Anglo-Saxon and Frankish hagiography, c. AD 400 - 1000

Abstract

This thesis investigates childhood between c. AD 400 and AD 1000 as seen in Anglo- Saxon and Prankish hagiography. To date, very little specific research has been attempted concerning childhood in the early medieval period; existing monographs on 'medieval childhood' focus on the twelfth century and later, and this is presumably due to a perceived lack of source material for the early period. This work attempts to address both these points by examining ideas about childhood and the experience of childhood during this under-represented time-6ame, and, in the process, by demonstrating the wealth of material about early medieval childhood which is to be found within hagiographic texts composed in these subsections of western Europe before AD 1000. The vitae I have used are of East and West Prankish and Anglo-Saxon origins, selected on the criteria that they were composed before the year AD 1000 and that they contain details of the saint's childhood. This thesis aims to identify and discuss the images of childhood provided by these sources, their theological and historical roots and aspects of the consequent construct of early medieval childhood sanctity. It also considers issues of gender as seen in the childhood sections of this sample of vzfae. While I began my research thinking that I would discover some kind of common ecclesiastical or monastic template of an 'ideal child', there has proved to be enough diversity between v/fae to enable me to make comparisons between geographical regions and the products of varying dates of composition.

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